With the holiday season quickly approaching you will undoubtedly be going to all kinds of parties thrown by friends, employers and whomever else wants to celebrate this time of year with a crowd of strangers! This is not only a great time of year to gain some weight on the free food and drink but to make some new acquaintances and perhaps even someone special. For some, meeting new people can be a bit nerve wracking, after all, walking up to a complete stranger and introducing yourself is not that easy if you don’t know what to say. But don’t worry, there are some great tips to remember that will make you seem more like an old friend than a stalker when delivering these surefire ice-breakers.

How many times have you thought you have found the perfect boyfriend or girlfriend only to find out a short time later that they are completely or at the least mildly insane! Well, you should have picked up on a few signs that all was not right with this person sooner as those that are wrong for us usually display some types of signs that you should be running away as fast as you can. The clues that someone is wrong for us are usually pretty obvious but those signs that someone is a keeper are much less apparent and take more time to realize. Here are several key indicators that person might be a keeper or at least worthy of a further commitment of your time.

Ladies, have you ever gone on a date dressed in your best chic, yet casual attire with hopes of looking like someone who is a cut above the rest without trying to be? You look the part of the Hollywood “A-lister”, making whatever you are wearing a fashion statement for all to admire but they are not really sure why? You put in the work to look like you haven’t tried hard at all while still looking fabulous, but then your date picks you up wearing Jeans, tennis shoes and a button down shirt from the GAP that looks like it hasn‘t seen an iron in years. Well, the problem isn’t his wardrobe, but more in the fact that you said yes to dinner.

Anyone who has been in a toxic relationship can look back well after it ended and identify the exact time and causes of its untimely demise. Bad relationships usually occur when people enter into them without really knowing the other person. You may think that the dating process should take care of all the questions and guesswork, but most people are still caught up in the flame of passion and disregard the tell tale signs of a toxic relationship.

Usually we can identify one or two particular habits that above all others drive us NUTS! It’s usually something that grows over time, and at the beginning of a relationship it is hardly even noticed. It’s kind of like a snowball rolling down a hill, getting bigger and more threatening the longer it’s allowed to continue on its course.

Healthy relationships don’t always happen overnight, quite often they take a bit of time and nurturing to allow any residual negative feelings from past relationships, such as jealousy and envy to fade to nothing. However, sometimes if things are not progressing at a pace that you are comfortable with drastic measures may be needed, such as making him jealous. Now this is not always a winning strategy as jealousy games can backfire, but they can also stimulate natural male instincts to seize that which may seem to be slipping away.

It’s not actually about how to make a guy jealous, it’s more about trying to cultivate a healthy relationship and doing those things that will result in a positive outcome for both you and a potential boyfriend. But let’s just say for argument’s sake that of all your male acquaintances there is one that really stands out and you are certain that he likes you as well, but you just can’t seem to get him to make a move trying to make him jealous might be your only solution.

Buttercup, Sunshine, Snookum’s or even My Sweet Petunia, bleh! It’s almost enough to make a guy turn in his man card! Yet, these are just a few of the affectionate nicknames we have grown accustomed to on television, especially for those of us who still enjoy a good cartoon every now and then. It’s not unusual for couples to have sexy pet names for each other and many people actually find these romantic nicknames a sign of genuine love and affection.

A relationship is a gamble, from the very beginning till, if you’re lucky “death do us part”. Obviously it requires time and effort, however the payback isn’t always what’s expected. The heartache, the pain, the torture and the list goes on, is what we are left with most of the times. Too bad the notion of “money back guarantee” or rather of “the time back guarantee” is non existent. The reason to why does it happen? Varies from the most stupid T-Rex walk, picky eater and littering to cheating, lack of romance and not getting along with the relatives. To list them all would be impossible.

Wouldn’t it be great if every time we asked someone out on a date the answer would be a resounding yes! Unfortunately unless you are a supermodel or have your own private jet the chances of perfection in the wide world of dating is pretty slim. Successful dating has to have a strong plan with the ultimate aim of finding someone special. Don’t get too caught up in trying to overcome failure and triumph in the dating world and concentrate more on becoming one the many successful stories that we all hear about.

Marriage is not the institution of society that it once was. This does not mean that getting married is a bad idea, it is merely that fewer couples seem to put the significance of marriage upon the pedestal and high honor that it once held. Marriage is a huge commitment for most and it can be incredibly terrifying for some, while for others it can be like a warm security blanket giving you comfort in trying times and joy at others. But the question then arises, can merely living together give you the same feelings that marriage does just without the official marriage license?